to prepare your CRM and email for the GPT era //

ChatGPT, and its AI driven cousins, have generated a lot of discussion regarding the future of content. It’s been relatively undiscussed how this technology can be used to increase the growth potential of CRM and email-based marketing.

It’s not a lack of technology. Salesforce announced in March its entry into generative AI, Einstein GPT, for CRM. Movable Ink, an independent platform, is developing solutions that integrate with ESPs or CRMs in order to provide compelling generative AI with a focus personalized content.

As with Marketing Automation, email and CRM marketers are still struggling to develop the data and/or personalized systems that will enable the existing technology.

This article will examine what GPT can do for email and CRM marketing — and the steps that they must take to achieve its full potential.

GPT’s most powerful functions for email and CRM

GPT is used today by many people for content creation, idea generation and research that does not require up-to date information. This is only a small part of the email world.

Imagine that you are an event company and ask the GPT tool to create a “personalized email and send list” for all those who might be interested in attending a free online networking conference. (The prompt will likely need work, but this can come with time and practice.

GPT will create an audience list and fill in personalized elements automatically. They can also provide a draft copy or images.

You can see the benefits of using GPT for this prompt. Add layers, such as asking GPT to find the best product for each user, or to create a draft list and email copy that targets people who recently purchased. Make sure to ask GPT for the best time and date to maximize engagement.

It sounds good, doesn’t it? But you need to stop.

It is difficult to put all this functionality into action because very few brands have the capability of plugging in GPT.

The first hurdle is that many brands do not have the clean data they need to take advantage of GPT’s size. AI can only be as effective as the data that it has access to. If you want it to analyze a new segment of customers, this segment must be clearly defined in your CRM.

Many brands will need to overhaul their creative template library in order for GPT to show its full potential. Many brands send only image-based emails, with static text overlaid, meaning there are no elements that can be used for dynamic, personalized messages.

As seen in the image below, brands need to update their templates so that they feature live text and not static text.

How to optimize GPT

It’s important to understand that, while your tech stack may be ready for GPT (given ‘s latest stats about readiness for GA4 – something marketers have had months to prepare for – this is hardly surprising).

It is important to spend time and train internally to develop a crawl/walk/run strategy to leverage GPT. This can be done in parallel with data cleanup projects, instead of waiting until the entire project is deemed seaworthy.

Start with the easiest-to-implement data segment: one that you are confident is up-to date, has a lot of value and can be implemented immediately. You can, for example, start with a Welcome Series to welcome new users. Then you can test the output on dummy accounts before locking it down. Once you’ve got some dynamic creative in place, try using GPT to personalize the message for different segments and see what comes up.

You will learn the limits and functionality of the tool and improve your prompting skills.

The stakes

Marketers who don’t use automation to the fullest extent are not alone, but still have plenty of room to gain an advantage over their competitors. GPT’s features only raise the stakes.

GPT-powered emails can increase conversions, encourage long-term engagement, and create a larger base of loyal clients. It will increase your customer’s lifetime value and allow you to spend more on acquiring new users.

You might be hesitant to try GPT if you are not familiar with automation. Use this to motivate you to immerse yourself in the possibilities, especially before Q4’s surge in engagement.

The first post MarTech: How to prepare CRM and Email for the GPT Age appeared on MarTech .